The Woods
by Kiryu2012
Summary: A mysterious entity starts picking off residents of Ponyville. Can Twilight stop this being, or will the rage of a certain assistant get in the way?
1. Chapter 1

Twilight Sparkle lay asleep in her bed. The young mare smiled softly in her sleep as Spike was curled up in his basket. The two have had a great day today. Pinkie Pie had thrown another party seemingly just for the fun of it, and everypony had a great time, Spike especially getting all the attention from most of the mares. Now they were earning their much needed rest.

They wouldn't be resting like this for long.

A shadow slowly appeared over the window, peering into the library. The thing stared at the occupants for a while longer before slowly disappearing.

Twilight trotted down the streets of Ponyville, simply taking in the joy this town had. The purple unicorn spotted Spike up ahead, sitting amongst Vinyl, Octavia, and Derpy outside of a restaurant. Vinyl scooted closer to Spike, pulling down her shades and batting her eyes playfully.

"So Spike, you wanna come to my place and make some sick beats?"

"Well, I, uh, heh…"

Octavia pushed Vinyl's hoof away from Spike.

"Vinyl! Can't you see the poor thing's embarrassed?"

"Come on, you gotta admit he's got that stuff."

Octavia blushed as she took a brief glance at Spike.

"Well, yes, I do have to admit that, but we can't just throw ourselves at Spike. Isn't that right?"

"Yeah, I mean, I like you guys and all, but-"

"Really? I like you too."

Derpy wrapped her arms around Spike and hugged him tightly, the purple dragon's eyes widening as Vinyl giggled while Octavia blushed at the sight.

Twilight rolled her eyes as she trotted past. Typical Spike. He always gets the ladies, and yet he doesn't know what to do with them. Twilight soon reached Sugarcube Corner, where a certain pink pony spotted her.

"Hey, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie chirped happily. "Is Spike here today?"

"Well…" Twilight motioned towards Spike with the other mares, and Pinkie grew a shade of dark pink at this.

"Oh. Well Spike is cute. No mare can deny that! Anyways, Twilight, I've come up with this totally cool thing!"

"Well, what could that be?" Twilight said, mostly to humor herself.

"This!" Pinkie pulled out a small cake, which was in the shape of Gummy.

"Cakes shaped like us! Isn't that great!"

Twilight had to admit, this was a pretty cute, if not over the top, idea.

"I have to agree. That's a good idea."

"I knew you'd say that! I've already started making cakes shaped like almost everypony here!"

At that moment, Rainbow Dash flew down to the mares. The rainbow mare held a newspaper in her right hand.

"Hey, didn't you hear? A couple of ponies went missing last night!"

"Really?" Twilight asked, lifting the newspaper from Dash and reading it carefully.

"_6 ponies mysteriously went missing last night. The cause for this disappearance is unknown, but the only surviving filly claimed she saw a bizarre stick-like figure with no face moments before the ponies went missing. Authorities aren't sure if the filly is telling the truth or is exaggerating, but it is advised to stay indoors every night._"

Twilight blinked as she read over the news again. What did this mean? And what was the stick figure the filly claimed she saw? It didn't make sense to her, but she felt that she could figure this out.

"This is…strange. Does anypony else know about this?" Twilight asked Rainbow Dash.

"Some of 'em. They're too scared to go out tonight, and some of the parents that heard are keeping an extra eye on their kids."

"Hmm. Well, I could try to find anything that might match what happened last night. Until then, we'd better do what the authorities say."

At that moment, Spike walked up beside Twilight, blushing as he felt at a blue kiss mark on his left cheek(courtesy of Vinyl). Dash giggled at the sight.

"Lemme guess. You got lucky again?"

"Yeah…"

Twilight sighed, lifting Spike onto her back.

"Guess I'd better bring Spike home. He always gets strange from getting this treatment."

Dash and Pinkie Pie giggled as Twilight carried Spike home.

Later that evening, Twilight looked through her books, from mythology to biology, to see if she could find anything that may resemble the thing that may have been responsible for the disappearance, but so far she found nothing. The two closest ones that matched were the Poltergeist, a ghost-like entity that occasionally takes form of certain creatures, and the Therizinosaurus, an omnivorous dinosaur that wielded long claws, but neither matched the stick-like shaped and the featureless face. Spike had soon gone to bed, and Twilight was feeling tired herself. Oh, well. Maybe she'd find more clues tomorrow. Twilight headed upstairs, climbed into bed, and quickly fell asleep.

It silently watched as the mammals were asleep. It quickly moved through the settlements, looking for an opportunity. Finally it saw one, in the form of several young mammals. It moved around them to prepare itself.

The young colts were heading home after a visit to their uncle and aunt, and knew they had to get home quickly. They didn't like the stick figure thing and didn't want to see it. Then they realized something. Their vision was…blurry. It was like they were seeing static. The trio stumbled around, trying to regain their sight, but ended up falling over. They tried to rise, but paused when a great wave of terror swept through them. The last thing they saw was black and a white head.


	2. Chapter 2

Twilight trotted down the stairs, heading into the kitchen where Spike was as usual making breakfast. Spike set both of them up with daisy pancakes and raw eggs(for himself, of course). As they ate, Spike faced Twilight.

"Hey, Twi, can I let you in about something?"

"Of course, Spike. What's the matter?"

"Well, last night I got this weird feeling. Like I had to be somewhere to do something, but I wasn't sure what. I think it may have to do with the incident that night."

Twilight looked at her assistant with worry. If Spike got this feeling and not her, then he must be sensing something she couldn't. It most likely had a lot to do with the strange disappearance. She would need to investigate the matter moreso.

Later in the afternoon, Twilight and Spike walked down the street of Ponyville, hoping to perhaps find more answers to this problem. Twilight spotted Cheerilee walking, and saw that the teacher pony hung her head sadly, and was walking slowly. Concerned, Twilight walked up to her.

"Hey Cheerilee, what's wrong?"

"It's the public school. It's been shut down."

"Really? Why?"

"Apparently the thing responsible for the last disappearance came again last night, and several colts went missing. They had the public school shut down just in case the thing may go for the school since it seems to target children."

Twilight put a hand to her chin. Something targeting children. Must be some kind of predator that hunts small mammals and simply saw young ponies as prey. But what kind of creature?

At that moment, Spike looked towards the outskirts of Ponyville, towards thr forest in the distance. He got that feeling again. Like he needed to go to the forest to do something important, but what he didn't know. As he thought of this, a certain gray mare tumbled into him, though the dragon remained standing. Derpy giggled as she stood up.

"Whoops! Sorry Spike. Didn't see you there."

Spike noticed that Derpy seemed awfully close to him, so close that their lips almost touched. He could feel her chest rub against him, her warm breath across his face. He would like to have her remain like this for him, but not every wish is granted, for Derpy then took to the air again.

"See you later, Spikey!"

Spike watched her leave as Twilight came up to him.

"We need to get back to the library. I have to try to look more into this problem."

Spike nodded and followed her.

It remained silent in its part of the forest. It didn't move an inch, never looked around, never left its spot. There were no other creatures around to disturb it, so it could use its senses to its full potential without any interference. It could sense the mammals in the settlement close by. The settlement would be its hunting grounds until the food source eventually ran out. Then it would hunt somewhere else.

Twilight had learned more about the late night disappearance. The trio of colts had mysteriously vanished in the streets without a trace. Twilight knew it had to be the same thing that was responsible for the vanishing of the 6 other ponies, and had went deeper into her studies to find out what did this. So far she came to one conclusion: The Deinocheirus. The Deinocheirus was a rare type of arboreal dinosaur that hunted its prey from the treetops, but at times hunted on the ground. Could a Deinocheirus be hunting ponies here? It was possible. It fit the description for the featureless face for the Deinocheirus had incredibly dark feathers to blend in with the darkness.

"If this thing is a Deinocheirus, I guess the better option would be to relocate it to protect it."

Twilight continued her studies, while Spike was looking out the balcony. He still had that feeling, and it was only growing stronger by the hour. He felt like he needed to do something important, something involving the forest, but he had no idea. He was unsure of this and a little worried for what may become of Twilight.

It waited patiently as the sun began to set over the horizon. It held no concept of time, and so never grew impatient, never wondered about the time. It waited for night to fall for its coloration would allow it to be near invisible in darkness. It wouldn't be too long before nighttime came, and it would hunt.

Twilight yawned as she climbed into her bed, Spike already curled up in his basket. Twilight felt insecure about the growing situation. She felt like Spike wasn't entirely safe.

"Spike?"

She heard a shuffle. "Yeah, Twilight?"

"Would it be okay if you slept here with me? I don't think you're safe out there alone."

Spike decided he might as well, since she was clearly worried about him. He stood up from his basket, and walked over to Twilight's bed. Slipping underneath the covers, Spike felt the comforting warmth on his scales as he snuggled up against Twilight. The mare blushed before she gently kissed Spike on the lips. The dragon accepted the kiss as Twilight pulled him into a hug, the two quickly falling asleep.

It silently moved past the buildings around it, sensing for any vulnerable life. Then it saw the tree at the outskirts of the settlement. It knew there had to be prey in there. It moved to the tree, slipping through a clear crystal-like covering in a hole. It saw a pair of creatures aside one another. Asleep.

Vulnerable.

Twilight felt like something was wrong, like there was another presence. She opened her eyes, only to see black. Fear beginning to overtake her, Twilight slowly looked up, only to see a white face with no features, and numerous black tentacles sticking out behind it. This was definitely no Deinocheirus. Twilight didn't know what to do.

She just screamed.


	3. Chapter 3

Spike had no idea what was happening. One moment he felt a presence, next moment he heard a scream, then he and Twilight teleported into the main room. Twilight was breathing deeply with fear, and her vision was starting to become filled with static, but with some magic she was able to keep her vision clear. Spike faced Twilight, fear in his eyes.

"Twilight! What's going on?!"

"I was wrong, Spike. This is no natural predator. This is Slenderman."

"Slenderman?"

"A near-immortal entity that feeds off living things and dwells in forests. It always hunts at night and is almost impossible to find."

"What are we gonna do?"

"We need help. We need to find a way to stop this thing."

At that moment, Slenderman appeared before the two, bringing out a scream of terror from Twilight, though Spike stared in shock. Twilight nearly fell backwards as she tried to run from the being, but Spike stared back at the entity before him. It was there that feeling came back, but nearly overpowering. Spike let out a low growl as he now realized what he should do:

Kill Slenderman.

Before Twilight could do anything, Spike lunged at Slenderman, pouncing on his head and biting at his featureless face. Twilight stared for a moment before she regained herself and ran out the house, just as Slenderman tossed off Spike and faced him.

Spike lunged at Slenderman again, biting down on the entity's right shoulder. No blood flowed, which was a shame to Spike. He would've liked to see this thing bleed, to show his dominance over it. Slenderman simply raised a left arm and nailed Spike square in the chest with a powerful blow, throwing the dragon off. Spike stood back up, huffing with rage, before he breathed out a stream of emerald flames, engulfing Slenderman's frame. However, through the fire, Slenderman stood unfazed. Black translucent tentacles emerged from the entity's back, before they swung forward and sliced into Spike's flesh, cutting through his scales like paper. Spike bore the pain as he lunged at Slenderman, whipping his tail around and striking it across the being's face, though this did little more than jerk its head to the left. Spike snarled with anger. He would fight to the death to get rid of this thing.

Twilight ran to the Carousel Boutique, just as Rarity stepped out of the door.

"What's going on, Twilight?"

"Rarity, it's urgent! The thing that's been causing these disappearances is a being like a ghost! Spike's fighting it, and we need to get the others-"

"Wait. Did you just say SPIKE is fighting that thing alone?!"

As soon as she said that, Spike was flung out of the library, rolling into the street as he stood back up, looking like a completely different creature. Slenderman slowly materialized before Spike, standing tall and silent. Rarity gasped in horror as other ponies stared at this thing.

"What is that thing?"

"That thing is known as Slenderman."

Spike charged at Slenderman, ignoring the ghostly being swinging its arms at the dragon and clawing right through the purple scales, crimson blood spilling out. Spike jumped up, biting down upon Slenderman's neck, attempting to crush its throat and tear it open. However, the being did not live on this world's rules; it needed no oxygen. Spike saw several tentacles rushing towards him, and he jumped away in time, only to find out this was a distraction as he was punched square in the chest by Slenderman. The dragon tumbled across the ground, digging him claws into the ground to keep himself steady. The reptile charged again, but was instead kicked square in the face by his foe, thrown across the ground once more and rising back to his feet.

Rarity was in absolute hysterics as she witnessed the battle.

"We have to stop that thing! We must save my little Spike!"

"Rarity, please calm down!" Twilight said, trying to ease the other mare. "We have to find a way to stop this thing."

At that moment, Applejack and Pinkie Pie came running to the scene, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flying with them.

"Twilight! We heard about what's going on and we came quickly!" Applejack exclaimed. "Now what in the hay is that?"

"That's an entity called Slenderman. A spirit-like being that feeds off any creatures it finds in its path. We need to find a way to stop it."

"B-but how can we stop that…thing?" Fluttershy asked fearfully. Even Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were both quivering in fear at this thing.

"I'm not sure, but we need to figure something out."

Spike charged at Slenderman again, only to be swatted to the ground. The ghostly being lifted him up by his tail and slammed him into the ground again and again, each slam leaving a puddle of blood in the ground. Finally Slenderman tossed Spike away, the dragon struggling to rise, growling furiously.

It knew that its cover had been blown, and it had to retreat. It would deal with the reptile later. Right now it must escape. It vanished away, to hide in the forest until it was safe.

Spike slowly stood up, panting with rage before he let out a frustrated roar. The Mane 6 came up to him, Rarity hugging Spike tightly.

"Are you okay Spike?" The white mare asked, inspecting his wounds.

"I don't care about myself."

The ponies gaped in shock at this.

"W-what do you mean?" Twilight asked fearfully.

"Come if you want, stay if you want, but I'm going to kill that thing."

Spike was no longer a kind and caring assistant. He had now become what he truly was: a fierce, dangerous, fearless dragon. And this terrified Twilight greatly.

_Is that thing causing Spike to be this way?_ Twilight thought to herself. _I have to stop this danger before it becomes too much._

Twilight stood up, getting the others' attention(except Spike).

"Alright girls, listen up. We need to stop that being before it gets anypony else."

"And just how are we going to stop a freak that has no face?" Rainbow Dash asked in her usual manner.

"I have several books that explain about things that could help us. It's very risky, but it's the only chance we have."

The group headed into the library, Spike slowly following, and Twilight used her magic to bring down an ancient looking book with bizarre symbols on the cover.

"This book explains how certain creatures contain the power to defeat nearly anything in Equestria save the Princesses and Discord. We can use one of these creatures to help us."

Applejack walked up beside her.

"So which 'un are we looking for first?"

"We start with the Rake."


End file.
